There’s no doubt about it: the past few years have been rough for most of us in America. A global pandemic, record deaths, lockdowns, an economic crisis, crazy inflation, and a few waves of civil unrest have certainly taken their toll on our mental and physical health. And indeed, a record number of American adults, almost 41% according to one recent study, have experienced some level of psychological distress since early 2020.

For the younger demographic, it’s even worse. 58% of adults aged 18 to 29 (that’s nearly 2 out of 3!) reported mental distress during this time. And the same trends can be seen in physical health, which is equally unsurprising given that a virus recently ripped through our country, leaving almost 1 in 6 Americans suffering long-term health issues. Many more of us felt the physical health tolls of being locked up for long periods of time, and often unable to access simple health services due to medical shortages.

And just to make things worse, these increases have made it even more difficult for many of us to find adequate treatment for our mental and physical health. In particular, in the field of mental health, it’s been getting harder and harder to find in-network appointments with therapists, and the rising healthcare costs make it prohibitively difficult to look elsewhere.

But from even the darkest storm comes a rainbow, and one of the most positive innovations to come out of the past few years has been the rise of home-based self-care. When many of us were stuck at home and had trouble accessing traditional healthcare, we started taking advantage of numerous readily-available products that could boost our mental and physical well-being. Necessity is the mother of invention, and when hard times called for it, we found creative solutions!

The mind and body are complex machines that do their numerous jobs with proteins, chemicals, acids, and other nutrients that stimulate parts of the body to do their jobs or stimulate the mind to send orders elsewhere in the body. These are all produced naturally, as a regularly occurring part of the body’s functioning, or as byproducts of what we ingest.

But in these odd times when our bodies and minds weren’t functioning the way they normally do (humans aren’t meant to be locked at home for months, after all!), the chemicals and proteins that keep our bodies running were also likely a step behind where they should be in many of our bodies. Though this is difficult to measure and not something you’ll notice immediately, you will inevitably notice the numerous effects of your body not having everything it needs to function properly.

Let’s dive into a couple of these ever-important components of the body and mind’s workings and some easy home-based solutions to ensure you’ve got the fuel and power needed for your body and mind to function at 100% capacity.

Melatonin: The Essential Cog in Getting a Healthy Night’s Sleep

When it comes to maintaining top levels of physical and mental health, it’s well agreed upon by both phycologists and physiologists that getting a consistent and healthy amount of sleep is one of the most important things you can do. We’ve all been there and know how our brain is in a rut when we’ve gone a few days without sleep working on a term paper. Symptoms of tons of mental health issues can and usually do kick in, from depression to anxiety to emotional stress.

And a lack of sleep is also far more damaging to your physical health than you might think. When your body’s asleep, it uses energy to do all the important “cleanup” tasks that it can’t do while you’re busy using that energy for your day-to-day life. It’s the time that your body fights germs, grows muscles and heals wounds and other injuries. This is why you’re usually quite tired after getting sick or hurt, and why a doctor might sometimes say, “Just get some rest.” Sleep might seem like just another basic part of life, but it can really do a lot!

The body’s sleep cycle is regulated by a hormone called melatonin, which the body produces naturally. As a natural depressor, melatonin works to slow down the central nervous system and reduce brain activity, signaling to your body that it’s time for a rest. Sort of the opposite of the energy-boosting hormones that you’re probably more familiar with, like dopamine and adrenaline.

As humans are naturally diurnal (the opposite of nocturnal), we are meant to be awake during the daytime and sleep when it gets dark. As such, the pineal gland (the part of your body responsible for melatonin production) has evolved to produce melatonin when it’s dark and slow the production of this hormone when the body is exposed to light. And unfortunately, the body hasn’t yet evolved to distinguish between the bright light of the sun and the bright light coming from your TV screen and smartphone while you spend long hours in the evening at home.

So it’s no surprise that, after a couple of years of spending a whole lot of time at home, many of us struggle with sleep! In fact, studies show that over 1 in 3 Americans struggle with sleep, another number that has unfortunately increased since the start of the pandemic.

It’s not just because we’re stressed and overworked; it is a simple (but unfortunate) biochemical reality that it’s harder to get proper sleep when we’re in a world surrounded by so much artificial light. If only there was a simple hack to trigger our body’s chemicals anyway!

And luckily, there is! Let’s take a look at PureBulk’s Melatonin Powder.

While melatonin is always produced naturally, the good news is that it’s fairly easy to supplement inadequate production when you need some more. PureBulk’s Melatonin Powder is exactly the same melatonin that your body produces in pure form, yet it’s available anytime you need it and can be delivered right to your doorstep. It’s not a medication or compound that contains melatonin, it’s the real thing! So let your body put it to work the way it does best.

PureBulk’s pure Melatonin Powder is available both in capsule form and as a raw powder. Both are 100% pure melatonin, with zero additives, fillers, or other active or inactive ingredients.

Though melatonin is 100% natural and though there shouldn’t be any side effects, you do want to be careful not to take too much, as you don’t want to be too drowsy, do you? Taking any more than 3mg per day is not recommended, and of course, if you can make do with less and still sleep healthily, take less. For best effects, take the melatonin at the same time each day in order to better aid your body’s natural circadian rhythm, or “biological clock,” as it’s often called. While it’s not the end of the world to skip a day (sometimes we need that energy to stay up late at a party!), you will notice the extra fatigue quickly.

A NAC for That: A Secret Ingredient to Help Fight Germs

When it comes to fighting sickness, we mostly think in a reactionary way. We get sick, then we go to the pharmacy and buy some Tylenol or antibiotics. But what most of us don’t realize is that fighting germs is something your body is doing every day, whether you realize it or not. In fact, it’s only after your body has failed once at this that we get sick and then start thinking, “How can I get my body to fight this off?”

Your body successfully prevents over 99% of germs that enter the body from becoming an even more noticeable infection, and it does this in large part thanks to an antioxidant called glutathione and N-acetyl L-cysteine (NAC), an essential acid for its production. It is this antioxidant that the immune system uses to scavenge the body for infected or damaged cells and get rid of them before they multiply. It also plays a critical role in the immune system’s processes of regulating inflammation (a common side effect of an infection or even a wound or bruise) and detoxification.

Many of our immune systems have been struggling for the past few years, both due to isolation from common illnesses and the aftereffects of the virus itself. Many of us still have lingering symptoms of “long COVID,” and many more of us, even if we don’t notice it, may have lingering effects on our immune system caused by the virus’s spike proteins that stick around.

After a few years of tough times when our immune system has been struggling, it might just need an extra boost to get back to its peak performance. And luckily, that boost is also easily available and can land on your doorstep in the form of PureBulk’s Pure NAC Powder!

With PureBulk’s Pure NAC Powder, you can give your body that extra chemical boost that it needs to maintain a high level of glutathione and fight off germs like it’s supposed to. Though the effects of this one might not be as immediate, you’ll soon notice a huge difference! Your heart and lungs will feel more healthy; you’ll get sick less often; wounds and bruises on your skin will heal faster; and you’ll likely live a more stress-free life.

As with all of PureBulk’s products, this is the real stuff. There are no fillers, preservatives, or extra ingredients. The same stuff that’s found in your body and that your body already knows how to use! It is recommended to take up to 750mg of Pure NAC Powder once or twice per day, ideally on an empty stomach, so that your body can better ingest it. As the powder is only available in powdered form, a gram weighing scale is recommended in order to properly measure the dosing.

* In partnership with our friends at PureBulk, Inc.* Photo courtesy of PureBulk, Inc.
* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
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